


motivation to strive for all things possible

by BlueFairyKino



Series: Protectors of Life [1]
Category: Etrian Odyssey Series, 新・世界樹の迷宮 ミレニアムの少女 | Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl
Genre: F/F, GOOD VERSE WHERE MIRA'S ALIVE YAY, canons miiight show up later but no promises, it's. it's legit just original characters, tagging with TMG for obvious reasons, they get tags tho, yay 5 day quest for giving me inspo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2019-08-20 22:15:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16564139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueFairyKino/pseuds/BlueFairyKino
Summary: Those with an indigo-colored aura are said to be naturally ambitious. They have unique dreams they seek to accomplish, and often will do anything to make sure they become a reality.It only makes sense, then, that one with an indigo aura would also have an ambition to continue living.(In which a 16-year-old girl, having lost everything she knew, slowly picks herself up and regains her lost ambition.)





	1. recovery is a process

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten months. Seven a blank slate in her mind, three spent silently in a bed. 
> 
> It's the tail end of the third when she finally chooses to speak.
> 
> (In which Mira begins the process of healing, after meeting a new friend and running into one she thought she'd never see again.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do you ever just make a character suffer and then cry about it bc buddy pal chum i sure as heck do
> 
> HI I WANTED TO DO MORE WITH MIRA SO YEAH IM HERE NOW
> 
> this is gonna act as a sorta prequel to a future EO fic, Protectors of Life (which is...yknow......the series title......shocker....), in which mira herself is the protag.
> 
> of course, yall gotta know how she ended up in this mess first, so here.

**_"...are you still alive there?"_ **

_"......"_

**_"No, but it's not long until you are."_ **

_"................"_

**_"...are you finally making a choice?"_ **

_"....."_

**_"Yes, your wounds will be healed, but-"_ **

_"............"_

**_".....you're really set on this, huh?"_ **

_"...."_

**_"Well...alright. If you insist."_ **

**_"If you're really so certain about your decision..."_ **

**_"I'll Resonate with you."_ **

 

* * *

 

Ten months.

It was ten months later, after that horrible incident, that Mira Yorke sat there, in a bed, at the hospital run by the Spasitel Order.

Her memory was...spotty, to say the least. She remembers going to make sure her little brother wasn't overworking himself again, then a bright light and a massive earthquake, and then...

Then...she remembers fire. Rubble. Her own self, broken and bleeding underneath all the debris.

That was where the blurs began. She remembers a voice, a softer light, then walking, and then...nothing.

Nothing, until she woke up in this very bed, surrounded by people all too ready to interrogate her about what had happened, how she had (apparently) healed so quickly from her wounds, and about things she didn't remember or understand.

She said nothing.

For three months, from the moment she'd woken up until now, Mira Yorke has not said a word to anyone.

They'd sent anyone they could think of. Nurses, priests, members of the Order who thought they could sympathize with her pain. But so far, none have been able to get so much as a single sound out of her.

When she isn't busy being hounded by people, Mira looks out of her window. She looks to the sky, where more often than not, gray clouds sprinkled snow along the rooftops and her own windowsill. She looks below her, where members of the Order wander in and out of other buildings she doesn't know the purpose of.

They were incredibly common views at this point, but it was better than not knowing what was going on outside the room at all.

 

***

 

Occasionally, one person Mira actually didn't mind visits. A Survivalist, with long blonde hair and a missing eye (evidenced by the large loop of cloth over one of the sides of her face), who wouldn't come with the goal to obtain answers from her, willingly or otherwise. She simply talks to her, and while Mira never spoke back, she would always listen very closely, and would learn things about this woman.

She learned that this woman was named Janotte, that she was twenty-five years old, that she was the leader of the Order's Special Operations Unit, and that she had a Beast companion named Echo. She had a mentor who's own Beast was Echo's mother, she had five other people whom she most commonly worked with, and she most often took on work that involved helping travelers across the dangerous frozen fields outside of the city.

Mira's favorite thing about Janotte was that, along with not hounding her for info on the incident or that which she couldn't remember, she also didn't expect her to suddenly start speaking at all. So many times, people who 'understood' Mira and 'knew what she was going through' would never get why she wouldn't say anything to them. But Janotte never once asked why she didn't speak. Nods and head shakes seemed good enough for her.

Janotte is the only one Mira opens up to...

 

***

 

...for about two weeks.

After those two weeks, Mira wakes up to the sound of rushing out in the hallway. She knows it can't be Janotte. Her footsteps are slow, collected, and more quiet.

The rushing reaches a peak, then stops. The sound of conversation takes its place.

One of the voices sounds...familiar, almost. Like something she hasn't heard in a long while.

Then the door opens, and blue eyes meet pink.

It's a few seconds later that memories begin to resurface. Finding a girl in the smaller bit of forest outside their home, hurt and afraid. Befriending the girl. Cooking with her. Watching her mother make a dress for her so that she can fit in.

~~Finding a note from the girl, who left in the middle of the night, and being torn on how to feel.~~

That very girl is standing at the door now. She's older, taller, and is wearing a large hood, but Mira can tell.

That there is Kagura Than-Vynnyang.

"...Mir. Hi."

Silence. Kagura walks closer, seemingly nervous. "I...look, I...I know I'm probably not the kind of person you want to see right now...really, I don't blame you if you're mad at me...I left really suddenly. I know that. But when I heard you were here, I......?"

There's a pause. Kagura's face is, for some reason, a little blurry now, but she looks concerned.

"Mir, are you...are you ok?"

The blurriness is from tears.

Mira, after being completely silent and blank-faced for so long, is crying.

Kagura rushes forward, obviously scared by the sudden change in expression. "M-Mir, what's wrong?! Oh god, I knew this was a bad idea, I'm s-so sorry, I'll l-lea-"

"..no..."

Kagura freezes. At this point, Mira is shaking, trembling, and the tears are coming faster.

For the first time in almost a year, Mira speaks.

"P-Please...d-don't leave...not ag-gain...!"

It's only a few seconds later that Kagura wraps Mira up in a tight hug, letting the girl sob against her shoulder. She babbles as she cries, choking out incoherent words about the incident, about the hounding and stress from those sent to question her, about things she isn't even sure she knows about fully.

And the whole time, Kagura sits there, on the side of the bed, holding her, letting her cry after spending so long holding it all in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Writing Blog: faedragon-portfolio.tumblr.com)
> 
> #LetMiraBeHappyWithHerTotallyNotFutureGF


	2. time alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Order is expansive. There's so much to see, and considering Mira's still in recovery, she can't exactly see it all on her own.
> 
> Luckily, there's a certain someone willing to show her around.
> 
> (In which Kagura helps Mira get some fresh air, and they both maybe get something else in the process.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> w. would you guys believe me. if i said i meant to write the last chapter in past tense. 
> 
> yeah i fucked up on that ahAAA
> 
> so yeah all chapters from here on will be past tense. i miiiiiiight go edit the first chapter eventually to match, but idk.

Recovery had been fairly straightforward from there. After finally realizing that maybe hounding her with questions while she was still in recovery  _wasn't_ such a great idea (mostly due to a very peeved Janotte and an utterly furious Kagura ranting this to them after they found out what had been happening), the staff had mostly left her alone, besides a nurse or doctor coming in every once in a while to check up on her status.

When she was able to walk again (somehow, despite having nearly no injuries, her legs still had felt like jelly for a long while), she began to explore around the building she was in, and got to know the staff a little bit better.

She hadn't gone outside yet, but she'd at least been allowed to open up her window a little, when it wasn't snowing too hard.

 

***

 

...the 'not going outside' thing lasted a whole week and a half before Kagura gave her a coat, gloves, and boots, and practically _dragged_  her out of the door, muttering about how not getting more fresh air would just be _bad_ for her.

And it was here when Mira learned that Kagura knew practically  _everything_ about the layout of the Order's buildings and the people who lived and worked in them.

She loved showing Mira around the place, introducing her to everyone she knew and showing her her favorite spots, and she always looked so  _excited_ to do it that Mira couldn't just say no.

She introduced her to some of the chefs who worked there, and Mira learned that they also made food for those in the hospital wards. She showed her the Order's expansive library, and simply watched with a smile as Mira excitedly picked out a few to use as a way to spend her time back in her room. She showed her the training grounds, and the two waved to Janotte when they saw her practicing her arrow shots.

It became a regular thing, eventually. Kagura would come in at a specific time, and Mira would greet her with a smile; then, after a bit of chit-chat, Mira would rise from her bed, and they'd go off on another outing.

And out of all of those days, all of those wonderful moments, Mira vividly remembered two of them.

 

***

 

Her second favorite memory took place on a cloudy day, the snow softly falling around them. Kagura had brought Mira to the roof of the hospital ward, which seemed oddly well-kept and even decorated.

"It's kinda meant for patients to get fresh air here." Kagura nervously chuckled. "I, uh, may or may not have broken, like, several normal regulations by taking you out anywhere else."

Mira tilted her head. "So...why did you?"

"Uh, duh, because normally this place is crowded with  _other_ patients and its sometimes way too cold."

Then, to her surprise, Kagura flushed up a little.

"And, well...you kinda had a bad experience here at first, what with all those people hounding you like that. I was, y'know...hoping you might be able to find something to like about this place, despite that."

 _....oh._  

It was true, really. After her experiences before remeeting Kagura, Mira wasn't all too sure if she'd be willing to stay there much longer, if everyone there was like that.

But...they weren't. There were tons of good people here, ones that genuinely wished to help, out of good will instead of out of obligation. And if Kagura hadn't brought her around everywhere and introduced her to those people, and shown her all those special places, she'd likely still be in that bed, holding a grudge against a place that, as a whole, had really done nothing wrong to her.

Mira quietly watched Kagura for a moment...then softly smiled.

"Thank you."

 

***

 

Her absolute favorite memory involves a secret.

"In here." Kagura whispered, motioning to a small gap in between two trees. Mira followed her in, and then the two of them were surrounded by trees and bushes on all sides. It was a tight fit, yes, but clearly Kagura had a reason for bringing her here.

"Kagura, where are we-"

"Shhh, be patient! Its just a lil' farther."

After a little bit, the trees cleared, and Mira stopped in her tracks.

It was a small area, surrounded by walls on all sides but the one the two had exited from. Vines seemed to crawl up the walls from the ground, each leaf bright green despite the cold air and the tiny icicles dangling from them. She recognized a few other plants, too, from a book she had read that had a section on plants that survived well in cold weather. And, in the center, a small, smooth rock sat on the ground.

Kagura giggled upon seeing the surprised look on Mira's face. "Nice, right? It's tiny, but that kinda makes it a lil' charming, y'know?" With a smile, she pattered over to the rock, sat on one side of it, then patted the other side.

It took Mira a moment to realize what she wanted, but once that passed, she quickly rushed over and sat next to her.

For a while the two just...sat there. In a comfortable silence, surrounded by the walls and the plants and the snow lightly falling and covering up the footprints they had left when coming in.

Then Mira glanced over at Kagura, and paused.

The other was simply looking up at the sky, but something seemed so...right about it.

_Her smile is..._

...a couple memories resurfaced. Ones of Kagura, back then, constantly building up a mask of a smile to hide any sadness or insecurity she was feeling, all so that she wouldn't bother any of them with her problems. Even back then, Mira always had a feeling those smiles weren't real.

But here and now, Kagura's smile seemed different. It was brighter, happier, more  _genuine_. Like she was smiling from the heart, smiling because she truly felt happy and at peace.

And seeing that...seeing the other smile so genuinely...

Mira just couldn't help but smile too.

 

***

 

Three days after that, Mira was cleared to leave the hospital for good.

"You said that you wished to stay here for a while, am I correct?"

"Yes sir." Mira affirmed to the man in front of her. Now that she was no longer staying in the hospital, she  _could_ have left the Order behind, but...that didn't feel right. So she had asked to remain there, even if not where she'd been staying for over three months.

"Well, a single room is always an option, but those spots are already fairly filled..." The man flipped through a few papers. "If you want, we can arrange you to share a room with someone."

 _That_ caught her attention.

"I think I'd prefer to go with the second option."

"Alright then." As he went through a few more things, he continued. "Now then, if there's any specific person you'd want to room with..."

Quietly, Mira turned away for a moment to look at Kagura, who was talking to Janotte not too far away. Said Survivalist noticed her right away, and quickly pointed her out to Kagura, who turned to face Mira and give her a small smile.

...her mind had been made up a while ago.

"I think I have someone in mind, sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Writing Blog: faedragon-portfolio.tumblr.com)
> 
> "kino this is a shit ton longer than the last chapter" yes and what's your point


	3. snow white arrowhead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, after a while of debating, Mira's made her decision.
> 
> And she knows just the person to speak to about it.
> 
> (In which Mira, finally reaching a resolution, speaks to Janotte about something important.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey remember when i updated this regularly????? yeah me neither
> 
> i did like. a load. of archery research for this chapter.

It started when Kagura came back from an assignment, and  _apparently_ didn't catch one of her wounds.

Which, inevitably, caused her to nearly pass out from blood loss. Something that Mira  _wasn't too happy_ to hear.

"Honestly, you need to pay more attention to yourself!"

"I'm on the front line, I _need_ to pay more attention to the fight."

That only caused Mira to huff, her hand reaching up to lightly flick Kagura on the nose. After getting her wound treated, Mira had practically  _dragged_ her back to their room in order to rest. Call her overprotective, but she felt like she was in the right here.

The girl sat back with a sigh. "Honestly...it's times like this that I feel like I should come along, just to make sure you don't run yourself ragged out there."

"Sucks that civilians ain't allowed to go with us unless it's an escort job, huh?"

"Oh, don't  _gloat_." Despite her huff afterwards, Mira lightly smiled as she got up. "Listen, here's some motivation: when your next mission comes around, if you come back with any wounds you got all patched up, not only will I  _not_ nag at you, I'll make you those special triple-berry pancakes you always love."

That certainly got Kagura's attention. Meaning that her head instantly shot up to look directly at Mira, her eyes sparkling.

" _Only_ if you come back with no open wounds, remember."

"You have a deal."

Mira couldn't help but laugh at the immediate response. It earned her another pout from the other girl, but she still kept laughing.

 

***

 

_"Sucks that civilians ain't allowed to go with us unless it's an escort job, huh?"_

 

Even now, as Mira layed in her bed, those words were going through her head. It was true, to be fair. Despite sharing a room with a member of the Order's special operations unit, and despite how she'd ended up befriending multiple members around the area, Mira was still just a civilian. Someone who couldn't fight.

Her mind trailed back to the times where she'd go watch Janotte practice. It gave her something to do, and it was impressive how well Janotte could do even with the eyepatch on.

_...tomorrow. I'll go talk to her tomorrow._

 

***

 

"You want to be a Survivalist?"

Her request to speak to Janotte privately had, admittedly, been a bit impulsive. The moment she'd spotted the older woman, she had immediately gone up and asked to have this conversation.

But she didn't regret her choice.

"Yes." Mira nodded, doing her best to not look as nervous as she felt.

"You've thought about this?"

"For a while now, but...I made my final decision just last night."

"...I see." Janotte seemed to think for a moment, then glanced back up. "May I ask  _why_ you chose this?"

That...caused Mira to pause for a bit. She knew very well  _why_ she wanted this, she'd been ruminating over it for a while now, but to actually put it into words and explain it...

"....I'm tired of not being able to protect people."

In the disaster, she hadn't been able to save anyone she held dear. Her little brother, her older siblings, her younger twin siblings, her mother, her father, her friends...she hadn't been able to save  _any_ of them.

And she was  _sick of it_.

"...not just that, is it?" With a soft gaze, Janotte leaned forward and gently placed a hand onto Mira's. "It's about Kagura, too, isn't it?"

...ah.

"I..." She glanced away, mind ruminating over her previous conversation with the other girl.

Then, ever so slowly, she nodded.

"I _just_ found her again. Before that day in the hospital, I hadn't seen her in over  _three years_. I can't..."

Mira sharply inhaled, clenching her fists in a futile attempt to make them stop shaking.

"I can't lose her  _again_."

Maybe it was selfish. Maybe all of this stemmed from an internal desire to have her stay by her side, one that might have been selfish in nature.

But she didn't care. She just didn't want to lose one of her most dearest friends for a _second_ time, and if it took learning how to fight and trying to gain permission to accompany Kagura on missions, she'd  _do it_.

The feeling of Janotte's hand gently squeezing her own brought Mira out of her thoughts. She looked up at her, about to apologize ~~(for what? for venting, for having a selfish wish, for taking up her time with this? she wasn't sure, but the temptation was still _there_ )~~, but before she could say anything, Janotte spoke first.

"One thing before I accept." Her previously stern, serious look turned to a gentle one. "Do this for yourself, too. Take care of yourself, not _just_ other people."

Mira felt a light bump at her leg, and glanced down to see Echo laying next to her. The sabertooth let out a soft growl, then once again nudged her head against her leg.

"...alright. And...thank you."

 

***

 

The next day, Janotte brought Mira to the training grounds, Echo not far behind like usual, and then gave her a bow and arrow and asked to see her stance and shot technique. Mira had seen Janotte and other training archers do it before, so she had an idea of what to do.

After a moment of observation, Janotte stepped a bit closer. "You're too tense. Try and relax your muscles as best as you can. Don't hold the handle so tight."

Mira nodded, then let out an exhale. She relaxed herself as best she could.

She let go.

A 'twang' sounded out, and her eyes opened to see that the arrow had landed on the second ring on the target.

"Not bad for your first shot." Janotte smiled down at her, lightly chuckling at the look of surprise on Mira's face.

"Oho, following in my footsteps, are you?"

The two looked back to see an old woman coming into the training grounds. She had an old, tattered cape around her shoulders, and an old-looking sabertooth at her side (whom Echo was quick to run over to).

"Right, you two haven't met yet..." Janotte looked back to Mira. "Mira, this is Lillian, my mentor."

Mira finally managed to snap out of her surprised state, and frantically bowed. "G-Good to meet you, ma'am."

"Please, dear, just call me by my name." Lillian then stepped forward, eyes moving towards the arrow in the target. "Janotte was quite right. You're a natural at this."

"Ah, well..." Mira looked back at the target again. It wasn't perfect, but...

"It...certainly wasn't a  _miss_."

All  _that_ did was make Lillian laugh. "Well, you've certainly got a point there!"

Janotte chuckled, then smiled at her new pupil. "Well? Ready to try again."

...maybe she really  _could_ do this. Maybe she'd finally be able to pay back Janotte and Kagura and everyone else she met here for everything they had done for her.

So, after taking a light sigh, Mira looked back up with a determined gaze.

"Of course."

 

***

 

That was her normal routine for the next month. Wake up, do her normal morning routine, train, spend some time with Kagura, sleep, repeat. As tedious as it might've seemed to some, it felt to her like she was finally getting herself together.

She  _was_ getting the hang of archery pretty quick, though. Training some other Survivalist skills was going well, too.

One day, though, instead of bringing her back to the training grounds right when they met up, Janotte instead brought Mira to her office. Lillian, her beast, and surprisingly, Kagura, were all there.

"Your training had been going incredibly well. I've no doubt in my mind that you'll be an excellent Survivalist. And as such..."

Janotte glanced back at Kagura, who, with a slightly flustered face, stepped forward, holding a somewhat large box. "I, er...well..." With a huff, she moved it closer. "Just...just open it, ok?"

Inside the box was....fabric? No, not fabric...lifting it up revealed a dress. And underneath it was more clothing: a cape, boots, gloves, a hair ribbon, small bits of leather and cloth armor...

"This is...?"

"Clothing more suited for a Survivalist, dear." With a cheeky smile, Lillian poked Kagura's side. " _She's_ the one who made it all. Been working on it in secret all this time~"

"Wh-Hey, you don't need to-!!"

She was cut off when Mira threw her arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Kagu, you...you didn't  _need_ to, but..." With a bright smile, Mira pulled back a bit. "Thank you. I love it."

Kagura was silent for a moment, her face bright red, before she huffed and practically shoved the box into Mira's arms. "Wh-Whatever, just...go get changed already."

 

.......................

 

Finally, after a few minutes, Mira stepped back in, garbed in her new clothing and armor. "Well?"

Janotte stepped forward with a smile. "It suits you. You looked like a professional."

"Indeed." Lillian simply said that before pushing Kagura (who had just been standing there, staring at Mira) forward.

"Ah-uh-" Kagura seemed to look over Mira quite a bit before lightly smiling. "Yeah. You look good in it."

She _felt_ good in it, too. She felt like she was really a member of this place now, like she was really a professional Survivalist.

Mira felt like she could take on  _anything_.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_"Hey, so, for your first mission with us, how 'bout this excursion we're going on with another group in a couple weeks?"_

_"Hmm? Sure, but what 'other group'? Someone from here?"_

_"Nope, it's from another organization. Some sort of big investigation team...Janotte, what're they called again?"_

 

**_"The Midgard Library."_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Writing/Character Blog: faedragon-portfolio.tumblr.com)
> 
> https://file.toyhou.se/images/12413986_UdEygsTQi6zdwlc.png
> 
> mira's new look! and also her official design for at least protectors of life (bc yes mira is gonna show up in future stuff and she'll prolly get new looks then, too)
> 
> anyway...how bout that foreshadowing at the end hmm :3c


End file.
